Finding Shiloh
by DevilGotMyWoman
Summary: Hazel is just looking for her cat, Shiloh, she didn't mean to end up in the Goblin City. But Jareth sees in her something he hasn't seen or felt in a long time and with the Summer Festival drawing closer, things are about to change. My first fanfic please be nice, reviews are welcome. Jareth and OC.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One- The Old Life

JPOV

Jareth sat upon his throne and stared into one of his many magical crystal balls. He was excited, for today was the day of the Summer Festival and the entire kingdom was bustling around getting everything ready. The air smelt like toffee apples and spun sugar, large ornate lanterns, ribbons and flags flew out of every window and bunting was stretched between houses and streets but that was nothing compared to the large field where the festival was taking place. This field was sacred ground and was where the battle of the elves and fae took place and also where the peace treaty was signed. It was very beautiful and tranquil, it was in a clearing surrounded by trees and in the centre was a large glass fountain of the goddess Fauna that spurted rainbow coloured water, some even said the fountain held magical properties and cured your ailments and others say if you listen closely you can hear her singing in the wind. But this was all folklore and fairy-tale nowadays in fact most people didn't even know the real story but just a legend that they would tell their children at night.

Four times a year this quiet and peaceful clearing held the season festivals for four days to celebrate the new season and the changing of time and earth. Many stalls, tents and makeshift stages were built and performers, dancers and acrobats would perform. The highlight of the festival was the leaving of gifts around the fountain, but the part everyone liked best was on the final night of the festival when the fountain would change the colour of the sky and the sky would rain with stars of every colour imaginable. The next day the earth would be fertile and ready for the new season of farming and the plants, flowers, trees and animals of that particular season would awaken. This was the time of change and a celebration of nature, the seasons and most importantly life. But things were changing for Jareth too in ways he could never have imagined.


	2. Chapter 2

HPOV

Hazel Hawks looked outside her bedroom window as the sky turned a dark, dismal grey but she didn't mind; in fact she loved the crazy weather. When most girls scream, shout and run into the nearest building as soon as a lick of wind or rain hit, Hazel loved it, she loved the crazy weather and Ireland had its pick of the best weather, beautiful summers but dark winters filled with rain storms and thunder and lightning. That day though Hazel didn't have much time to admire the weather as she was late for work and her boss could be pretty mean even if you were only five minutes late. So she flung open the curtains, opened the window just enough to hear the wind howling and headed to the bathroom. After a quick shower, she dried her jet black hair and tied it in a messy bun, letting some curls fall around her face, her hair never behaved no matter what she did with it, her mass of wild curly hair did not like to be tamed and neither did Hazel. She quickly got dressed in her usual black skinny jeans and black t-shirt grabbed an apple from the kitchen and her jean jacket covered in badges she was just putting on her biker boots when she remembered her satchel which had her unfinished story in, she quickly fed her cat Shiloh and hurried out the door. She enjoyed the walk to work as she could walk through the park; she loved the sound of the leaves crunching under her boots but today felt different; the air was ice cold and pinched her cheeks. She was grateful then that she always keeps a scarf and hat in her satchel, in fact she kept pretty much her whole life in her satchel and was always prepared for whatever life threw at her. She reached the shop in record time and was just taking of her jacket at her locker when her boss walked in.

"Morning boss," she said a sly smile spreading across her face knowing she had avoided her bosses wrath for another day.

"Good morning Hazel," she sighed as she took in her state of dress, she never understood why an attractive young girl would want to cover herself in tattoos and piercings, dye her hair bizarre colours and only wear black clothes. She only kept her on because she was gifted at her job but Hazel had three other jobs she was also gifted in. "I need you to start on the winter wedding table settings and the brides bouquet," she huffed and walked out of the tiny back room where her three employees had their lockers and ate their lunch.

"Sure thing boss" Hazel shouted at her retreating boss and stifled a giggle, her boss was somewhat uptight about pretty much everything and constantly reminded her of her stepmother, in fact they were similar in lots of ways both, had expensive blonde dye jobs on their hair but just made them look like scarecrows, both only wore white, cream or pastel colours, never smiled and where uptight, strict and controlling. But she needed the money so she suck it up.

She headed out to her workspace right at the back of the shop hidden behind a large screen and several buckets of roses and other decorations, her boss Angel (this name always made her laugh, although everyone had to call her Mrs White and never Angel) said she didn't want the customers to be put off by her 'gothicness' that she always would quote with her pristinely manicured fingernails. But Hazel didn't mind because she did not enjoy being stared at by insufferable old women and gushing brides with fake boobs and annoying yapping dogs they carried around in their fake designer handbags. As much as she hated her boss and the customers who thankfully she never had to deal with directly after the 'Fake Tan Incident' that Angel always likes to remind her about (she may or may not have shouted at a customer and thrown water at them because they looked like Oompa Loompas) she did love her work, she loved creating art from anything, be it flowers, paint, found objects or food, she loved finding the beauty in everything.

She looked over her work she had spent three days completing, it was an elaborate bouquet of roses, lilies and tulips all in ghastly garish pinks and purples her two least favourite colours. But this garish girly nightmare was nearly over she just had to finish the three table settings and then it would be over. She spent the day tirelessly working over these god awful creations and by lunchtime she was finished, Angel quickly swooped in scooped them off her desk and packed them into their protective polystyrene boxes to be shipped to the 'blushing bride'. She swore Angel always gave her the most girly projects to try and feminise her but Hazel was happy with her tattoos and piercings, this was the real her not the Barbie pink princess her father and stepmother wanted her to be. It was the best decision of her life to leave home, even though she had four jobs nearly no social life and only her cat for company but it was so worth it and besides she didn't really like people anyway especially not the types of people in this town; vapid, vacant girls who wore pink and giggled all the time and spent their life chasing the vapid vacant sporty boys who were all macho and did sports.

She was always the strange one, the freak, the weirdo, the loser, the loner always picked on and teased at school and fussed and primped and preened by her parents. It was alright in the beginning when it was just her and her mum and dad they were happy until her mum ran away when Hazel was ten, she remembered that night vividly. Her mum had kissed and hugged her extra hard and had left all her fairy tale books behind, at the time she didn't understand but in the morning there was a note left on the kitchen table. Fast forward two years and her father had remarried to the exact opposite of her mum who was a free, wild fun loving hippie bohemian who loved to dance and bake and tell stories. But her mum was always working she was a jazz, tap and ballet dance teacher but she must have gotten bored of just teaching because in her note she said that she wanted to her pursue her own dreams like before she married dad, she was a chorus dancer on the West End but her father asked her to stop and settle down and raise a family. So when her father married a strict, rules obsessed witch who had bought two evil stepdaughters with her, for the first time in her life she felt truly alone and abandoned. That feeling only increased as she got older and when her stepmother gave birth to a baby boy she was pushed right out of the picture. So she spent as much time as possible away from home joining after school clubs, staying at her grandmother and aunts house and working extra hard to get good grades. For a while that worked, piano, tap, ballet, jazz, art, theatre, choir, debate team, tennis, swimming and extra classes for English, French, Spanish and science then baking, playing the piano and making clothes at her grandmothers or babysitting at her aunts. But just as she fell into a happy routine the stepmother wanted to move from Ireland. She left the only family she had behind and moved to a new school where she was freak girl all over again. By the time she was eighteen she was at breaking point, her grades where still exceptional but her life was painful and empty, she no longer danced or played the piano or appeared in school plays. The absolute tipping point was when her grandmother died and she was not allowed to attend the funeral. Then to make things worse her aunt moved to Australia and there was no way she could ever visit. She wanted to die but the only thing that stopped her was her grandmother who had left Hazel her house in her will. Hazel loved that home and knew it was a sign from her grandmother who was a bit of a gypsy in her own way and believed in signs, auras, crystals and tarot cards. One day when the whole family where out she started packing all her essential belongings into her beat up Bug by the time they returned her poor little Beetle was weighed down with all her books, music, films, clothes and precious trinkets like her grandmothers jewellery, glass animals and record collection, her mother's china dolls and teddies and her large collection of snow globes. In the middle of the night she snuck out of the house with her duvet and precious blanket she had from birth wrapped around her shoulders and her sacred satchel over her shoulder and the lucky eight ball key ring for her Bug. She squeaked open the garage door, flopped into the car, quietly started the rumbling engine and crawled out of the garage. She left a note on the kitchen table and never looked back.

Hazel sat at the small table in the break room Angel had left for her employees to use as a lunch room and pondered over her life so far and all the crazy changes that had happened in two years. She was so grateful to her grandmother for leaving her mothers and her own childhood home every inch of the place was filled with happy memories. Hazel was bought out of her nostalgic bubble by the sound of Angels erratic squeaking giggle that grated on Hazel like nails on a chalkboard.

"Hey Angel" she said as she entered her bosses' magnolia office.

"The bride loved her bouquet and table settings," she squeaked clapping her French manicured hands together and looked Hazel up and down in a disproving manner, "Since you did such a good job you can have the rest of the day off," a fake smile graced her Barbie pink pout so she looked like a blowfish.

"Wow thanks Angel that's really nice of you, but isn't today pay day?" she innocently enquired doing her best doe eyed look.

"Oh yes," huffed Angel scrabbling around on her pristine desk that was littered with cherub figurines, "Ah here we are," she handed Hazel the pristine white cheque, "Have a delightful day and see you Friday" she did one last fake smile and turned on her spinning chair to face her computer.

"Bye Angel" she shouted as she left the office. Quickly grabbing her satchel, jacket, hat and scarf she legged it out of there to deposit the cheque in the bank before it closed.

She stopped off at the market to grab something nice for supper and some more cat food for her Siamese called Shiloh. By the time she got home she was exhausted and wished she had taken her car to work as she was laden down with several heavy bags, she always forgot how out of the town her home was until she had to return, it's like her brain always forgot about the hill and the bridge and the winding dirt road. She fed Shiloh, put on one of her favourite films Lord of the Rings and began making dinner. The smell of roasted vegetables, noodles and apple crumble filled the air; the film was just getting good as she slumped onto the old blue sofa and heartily tucked into her meal. She fell asleep on the sofa with Shiloh curling up on her chest and her old threadbare baby blanket on her shoulders. Unbeknown to her Jareth had been watching her entire day from the sanctuary of his castle and the magical power of his crystal ball.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Two- The Dream

JPOV

Jareth awoke with a stiff neck and aching back when he realised he had fallen asleep in his throne. The crystal he was using to watch Hazel lay protectively in his lap and was also showing Hazel waking up. 'She truly is beautiful' thought Jareth as she held the crystal in his gloved hand 'She would make a wonderful queen, she is the one I have been searching for' he chuckled to himself at his thoughts and flung his legs over the arm of his throne and landed on the floor. He stealthily walked like a panther out of the throne room and to his quarters where a hot bath and a delicious breakfast would be waiting for him, all the while watching Hazel from his crystal ball.

HPOV

Hazel awoke with a start she had had another bizarre dream, she was in a strange maze chasing after Shiloh. She couldn't remember much apart from the strange smells and sounds; it was like she was in a jungle being chased by a panther. She had no idea what the dream meant but knew that since she had moved to Ireland again the dreams had gotten more intense, more lifelike and felt real. 'What the hell is wrong with me' she thought as she flung the blanket over the back of the sofa and walked to the kitchen.

"Shiloh" she called and her sweet little Siamese cat walked out of her bedroom and sat at her feet waiting for her to pick her up. "Oh I see you get the bed to yourself and I get the sofa" she giggled whilst tickling Shiloh's tummy. She put out breakfast for Shiloh and set about making something for her to eat; as it was still quite early she could enjoy a proper breakfast for once and maybe even a bath. Whilst Shiloh was lapping from her milk bowl happily and the radio was humming away in the background, Hazel had a chance to think about the dream she had had. She ate her fruit salad and blueberry pancakes whilst musing over the strange scene from her dream. A tall majestic, glass fountain stood in front of her and seemed to be spraying and trickling indigo coloured water from its many spouts, it was most mesmerising and the sound of the water was calming and soothing. Hazel had never felt this relaxed but it was the smell of toffee apples that hung in the air that caught her attention, her grandmother used to make toffee apples and chocolate apples and caramel apples, they were and still are her favourite treat. Then the dream began to get deeper she was immersed in a crowd of strange masked creatures in eccentric colourful costumes, everyone was waving flags or ribbons and large Chinese style lanterns were strung between the trees, but it was the lack of stars in the sky that caught Hazel's attention, the sky was just an empty blackness. She had no time to ponder further because a strange masked creature grabbed her arm and led her to a red tent. She couldn't help but think of her grandmother again when she entered the tent with the strange masked man. The tent was like her gypsy caravan that lived in her garden; her grandmother would go in there and tell her fortune in a large crystal ball, by reading her palm or through the tarot cards. She felt like she was back there, it was scarily similar the walls were hung with red velvet curtains and from the ceiling hung thousands of origami birds, bells and crystals of every shape and size. The room had the same peach coloured light and smelt of incense sticks and patchouli oil. Candles filled every available surface and large cushions littered the floor in exotic colours. But the strange figure had sat down at the only small table in the room and was watching her through his mask; he was playing with a crystal ball and had a cat like smile on his face. She sat opposite him and placed her hands on the table which was covered in a silk scarf and several precious stones littered the surface. The strange man took her hands delicately in his black velvet gloves and turned them so her palms were facing upwards. He didn't say anything just stared into her eyes, she didn't even notice when he had started lifting the sleeve of her jacket to reveal her wrist.

"My dear, what do we have here" he cackled breaking their staring competition. She realised he was looking at the tattoo she had had done on her wrists when she had arrived back in Ireland.

"It's just a silly tattoo," she replied her voice sounding stronger than she felt. There was something about this man that made her confused, on one hand he was enchanting but on the other she felt something wicked and bad inside him.

"Tell me," he said stroking his long index finger the base of her wrist "What does it mean," he didn't let go of her wrist, instead he started making little patterns on her palm.

She had been so busy looking into his eyes that she failed to notice he had moved onto her other wrist, but she couldn't look away. Something wasn't right about him and it made her uncomfortable.

"My grandmother always used to say be your own star" she glanced down at the four pointed star on her wrist it was only small but it was her most meaningful tattoo.

"Wise words" he said and then he kissed her palms.

That was the last thing she remembered before she woke up. Sitting in her kitchen thinking over that dream had made her even more curious about that world, the fountain and the strange man. But she had no time to ponder further; she had to get to work. She quickly showered, dressed, kissed her cat, grabbed her electric blue fake leather jacket and precious satchel and headed out into the bitter cold.

Her biker boots made satisfying sounds on the icy paths, and she stopped several times to take photographs of crystallised spider webs and naked trees with branches that looked like hands.

Today she was working at Mr Mongolia's antique and bric-a-brac shop, it was one of her favourite jobs and Mr M was her favourite boss, he always reminded her of Father Christmas with his white wispy beard and jolly red cheeks.

"Morning Mr M," she said as the bell of the shop twinkled.

"Good morning Hazel," he said smiling his big grin, "Can you believe it snowed last night" he followed her into the back room where his office and quiet space where.

"No, I didn't look out the window this morning so it was a shock when I opened my door" she removed her long hand knitted scarf (a present from Mr M's wife Gloria who was a champion knitter) and jacket, hung them on the old coat rack and headed back into the workshop. Silently glad she had packed her snuggly black jumper in her bag and was now slipping it on skilfully as she headed to her work station.

But something caught her eye on her desk; as she listened to Mr M tell her what he needed her to do that day in his happy sing song voice. Just as he was returning back into the shop and his little perch behind the till, Hazel picked up the package.

"What's this Mr M" turning the heavy brown envelope around in her hands.

"Oh it came for you this morning, a man left it for you at the front desk and I put it here for you," he smiled and left her to get to work.

Not wanting to bother him with more questions as she had heard the tinkling of the shop bell and the happy talk of customers, she set about fixing the grandfather clock that was the largest she had ever worked on, it was nearly as tall as her and she was five foot five. She tried to keep herself busy by fixing the clock and distracting herself with music from the old record player Mr M let her use when it got a bit quiet in the workshop. But she couldn't stop thinking about the package that was sat mocking her on her desk right in her line of sight. By lunch time she had had enough she was going to open it just as soon as she asked Mr M more questions. You may think it was odd, her reaction to the package but Hazel hadn't received a single present for ten years and hated celebrating birthdays and Christmases because it reminded her to much of her mother and grandmother, who always gave Hazel the best parties and gifts. She never had lots of toys and usually only received four or five presents when she was younger, one from her father usually something from his travels around the world quite often a snow globe, a doll or a little painted figure. One from her aunt who always bought her something sensible like new ballet or tap shoes or piano music, one present from her grandmother who would usually make her something like a new dress or skirt, she was a very skilled dressmaker but on her tenth birthday her grandmother gave her a trinket box in the shape of a piano that played music when you opened the lid, inside the red velvet lined box was a silver locket that Hazel has never taken of since, she put a picture of her grandmother in one side and a picture of her mother in the other. Her mother's gifts where always special as she usually bought Hazel a book wrapped delicately in silver wrapping paper that Hazel would never rip and would always save; the book was always a fairy-tale or a fantasy story. She treasured those books as they were always inscribed in the front page with her mother's elegant handwriting always a message of love. When her mother left she reread those inscriptions over and over again until she could recite them in her sleep.

She headed into Mr M's office to ask him about the man who left her the package but he wasn't there, she walked out into to the shop but saw the closed sign was hung on the glass door and he had left a note for her on the desk next to the till and the large ledger he wrote down every sale in.

_Hazel,_

_I've had to leave early I'm afraid, I came in to check on you but you were asleep at your desk. You looked exhausted so I left you alone, feel free to leave early and catch up on some sleep. _

_Could you please lock up the shop and the workshop I would be most grateful._

_See you Monday, have a good weekend and don't work too hard._

_Mr M_

She smiled to herself, even in writing Mr M was happy, she would ring him later to make sure he was alright only once in her two years of working here had he left early before and that was when his eldest daughter Melissa was having a baby. She headed to the workshop, put away her tools and locked the grandfather clock in its special case. She grabbed the package and headed to the break room where she wrapped herself in her scarf and zipped her jacket up to her chin, she could hear the wind howling and knew it would be cold. She put the package in her satchel, found her gloves and the key Mr M had given her for emergencies. She locked the workshop, his office and headed out into the shop making sure everything was in order before she headed out into the cold and locked up the shop from the outside.

She ran home with the wind rippling through her hair and the snow coming down in delicate flakes. When she got home she started the fire, fed Shiloh and put the kettle on, whilst the kettle was boiling she changed from her snow covered jeans, sodden shirt and was left in her white vest and short combo she put her long ankle length cotton nightie on top for extra warmth, knee high socks and her favourite emerald green cardigan that was affectionately known as the sleep cardigan because Shiloh often used it as a bed. Whilst pouring the boiling water into the old china tea pot her grandmother used, she called Mr M to make sure he wasn't stuck in the snow. It was as she had suspected his younger daughter Maggie had gone into labour and he was soon to be the grandfather of another little girl. She smiled to herself when she put the phone back in its cradle, Mr M was such a lovely man and deserved happiness, and she would definitely get him a card or something to give to the baby.

Just as the fire was turning a lovely glowing orange and she had settled herself with her cup of tea, Doctor Who on her tiny T.V. and Shiloh curled up in her lap she remembered the package in her satchel. Depositing the grumbling Shiloh onto one of the many cushions that littered the sofa, she got up and brought her satchel to the sofa. She lifted out the now slightly creased package from her satchel and put the bag on the floor next to the sofa, Shiloh took this as an opportunity to sit on top of it and purr contentedly. The package was a thick envelope and on the front written in silver ink was her name in elegant italic script. She turned the package over in her hands and opened it; a large silver compass fell into her lap. Picking it up she noticed it was very old and the silver dull and worn and it looked antique but it was like nothing she had ever seen before. It was at least an inch thick and just about fit into her hand it was about the size of a small saucer and was rather heavy and chunky. But what caught her eye were the patterns and markings on its surface. Etched onto the front was a large maze that led to a castle straight out of one of her mother's fantasy books, it was then that she noticed this picture before but she couldn't place it. The turned it over to examine the back it was split into four sections each representing a season but in the centre was the fountain from her dreams, the beautiful woman made of glass. She was so shocked but her curiosity was piqued so she continued examining the compass. She could find no way of opening it there was no clasp or lock it was a perfect circle. The sides were intricately carved with different plants, flowers and animals but it was only when she looked closer did she see unusual markings that made no sense to her. She tried everything she could think of to get it open but to no avail it would not budge. She lay the compass down on the coffee table and walked away in a huff, she began to pace in front of the fire, trying to work out the connections between her bizarre dreams, the compass and its markings. As she paced she was suddenly hit by something Mr M had said to her when she first started working at his antique shop. He said 'if at first you don't succeed try and try again' at the time he was helping her fix a locket and those words stuck with her. After that clocks and jewellery became her specialty but there was something about the locket the day he had told her those immortal words, the locket had a special clasp that you had to turn all the way around before the locket would open. Having found her eureka moment she picked up the compass with haste and stood in front of the fire again, enjoying the warmth on her legs. She held the compass delicately between her fingers and began to twist it. With a little effort the two discs began to move but to her even greater surprise the little markings that puzzled her began to move to, when she had twisted it halfway she examined the locket and noticed the markings made words. She rang her finger over the words and was so pleased with herself she hadn't noticed that the clock on her mantel piece had thirteen numbers instead of twelve and reflected in the glass was the owl man from her dream. She returned to the sofa; suddenly weary the words from the locket spinning round her head. 'But what does it mean' she muttered to herself reading the words again in her head. 'Golden moon, silver sun, all thirteen hands lead back to one' she whispered to herself. Suddenly a crack of thunder and ice blue lightning filled the sky but her eyes where heavy with sleep and she was lulled silently into her dreams.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Three- First Meeting

HPOV

Hazel awoke with a start, the storm was raging outside, the rain was pelting the windows, the sky lit up with flashes of lightning, the wind howled like a pack of wolves and the thunder sounded like giants boots. Normally she would have loved the storm but something felt wrong, she called out for Shiloh but her cat was nowhere to be found.

"SHILOH" she shouted but she heard no patter of paws or squeaking meows. Poor Shiloh was out in the storm. She ran to her satchel, grabbed the compass and tucked it inside, threw the bag on her shoulder, found the torch she kept inside put on her biker boots and set out into the storm.

The sky was so dark and the clouds felt so low and heavy, the rain soaked through her clothes in seconds but she didn't care. She was calling for Shiloh and scanning around the clearing with her torch. Far off in the distance she heard a squeal that sounded a lot like Shiloh so she headed towards the woods. Her boots squelched in the mud but she continued on, although she walked through these woods every day to get to work now they felt strange and eerie. She kept calling and shouting Shiloh's name and occasionally she heard a distant meow. But the deeper she ventured the creepier the woods became, the branches seemed to reach and grab for her, the howling grew louder and louder. The branches caught her hair and her dress; they knocked the torch from her hand but still she called for Shiloh. She kept running and shouting for Shiloh until suddenly from nowhere she slipped on a muddy rock and hit her head. She was knocked unconscious and was sucked into a terrifying dream. Unbeknown to her was the strange creatures that carried her beyond the woods and into the Goblin City.

Hazel awoke on soft grassy ground, hot sun blazing down on her and a distinct feeling she was being watched. She looked all around her, she was in a beautiful meadow of wildflowers, and she heard rushing water and ran to it desperate for a drink. She lapped at the water and washed her face, thinking she was still dreaming. When she looked up she was still in amongst the wildflowers that came up to her thighs. The sky was candyfloss pink and the air had a distinct smell of peaches. Somewhere in the distance she heard people laughing and talking. They couldn't be that far away she mused and set off across the meadow towards the forest.

JPOV

Jareth meanwhile stood out on the balcony of his castle watching through a telescope the preparations for the festival. But from nowhere he felt a kind of pulse, almost like a jolt around his heart, it wasn't painful it just felt like energy, pure energy that hummed through him. He looked around the banquet hall and noticed other people with the same surprised look on his face, 'they must have felt it too' he thought. Bringing the telescope back to his eye he spotted something in the meadow but he couldn't make out what it was but whatever that energy was that pulsing through him, his people and the kingdom seemed to be coming from there. With a flick of his gloved hand he transformed into his animal form, a beautiful white owl. He flew towards the meadow but had a surprise when he saw what was there.

The beautiful woman from his dream was here in his labyrinth wearing a most peculiar outfit, a ripped white gown, strange boots, long curly black hair all over the place, and strange silver piercings all up her ears. But she was so very beautiful and so different to everyone else in the Goblin City and its surrounding kingdoms that made up the make believe world. He kept a distance and watched from afar but a strange sound was distracting him and it seemed to have caught the woman's attention also. They both began to walk towards the strange sound; they walked through the meadow and were heading straight for the festival site. But the sound was getting louder and the woman was running towards it, she kept calling out 'Shiloh.' They both reached the maker of the noise, underneath a large and bountiful peach tree a strange little creature was crying and making strange sounds, it had caught its foot on something.

Hazel unbeknown she was being watched stepped carefully towards the creature not wanting to frighten it away. It was a small, strange little thing; it looked remarkably like a baby dragon but had a little tuft of pink hair on the top of its head.

"Hello," she said quietly walking towards it as it hopped up and down on its foot obviously in a lot of pain, "It's alright I'm not going to hurt you," the creature stopped hopping and looked at Hazel. It had large black eyes that were watery with tears, "Here let me help you" and she sat on the ground as close as the creature would let her and got out her first aid kit. The creature curious of what she was doing went towards her, "Is it your foot" the little creature nodded and held up its scaly little foot. Hazel picked up the creature who didn't protest, while she gave it a gummy bear to eat to distract it she pulled out the thorn, it gave a little yelp of surprise and began to cry again. She wrapped the foot in a bandage and cradled the little creature softly singing to it and feeding it more gummy bears until it calmed down. "What's your name" the little creature fidgeted and looked shy but said in a tiny little squeak of a voice "Jax".

Hazel got to her feet whilst still holding Jax and began to walk out of the woods, "That is a lovely name" little Jax smiled.

"What's yours?" he asked in a braver voice she checked the coast was clear and hopped over the rocks to get back to the meadow before replying "I'm Hazel," little Jax tried the word in his mouth before saying it aloud "Hazel, I like it" she smiled down at him.

"Do you have any family Jax you seem very young to be out by yourself?"

"Nope" he popped "Just me" he looked sad then so she gave him another gummy bear.

"No worries then I'll look after you, I've got no family either only my cat Shiloh" she left of, thinking about Shiloh made her worried.

"I'll help" he squeaked smiling up at her.

"Thank you Jax I've never had a friend like you before," she smiled down at him and he beamed back.

"I've never had a friend before" he looked puzzled "What is a friend?"

"A friend is like your companion, you do things together like talk and share stories and have adventures but the most important thing is that friends always look out for one another," the little creature gave a smile and then yawned "You get some sleep now Jax we can talk more later" little Jax fell asleep in her arms just as the rain began to fall.

Jareth couldn't believe his eyes, the woman from his dreams had saved a baby dragon, and she had actually gone out of her way to help someone. She was most unusual but now he knew her name, Hazel. Such a pretty name and suited to her but now that the rain is falling everyone must find shelter.

Jareth transformed into his owl form and perched on the branch directly underneath him sat Hazel and Jax. The rain was getting worse, a summer storm was coming. It was only one more night until the festival and not a moment too soon, the weather had been most erratic. He wondered if it had anything to do with Hazel ever since he had seen her in his crystal things had begun to change.

"Don't worry Jax it's alright, just a little bit of thunder and lightning, nothing to be scared of" she rocked Jax in her arms and looked out at the storm, the sky was indigo coloured and the lightning crashed and cut through the air like a knife. "At least we are nice and dry" and Jax began to settle "I just hope poor old Shiloh is alright"

Jareth began to wonder what this Shiloh creature was; he had heard her calling it when she had first entered the Goblin Kingdom. Soon though he would have to show himself to her, he didn't want her to be scared in this place, he wanted her to like it and he wasn't sure why he was so eager to impress a human woman. He transformed back into his body and jumped down from his perch, he expected a scream or a shout of surprise from Hazel but when he landed he noticed she was asleep. The storm was clearing and she began to stir.

HPOV

I could feel someone's eyes on me like I was being watched. I looked up and saw a strange man staring at me; he was sat on a rock a few feet away from me. He was most unusual, long blonde hair, mismatched eyes and beautiful medieval style clothes.

Jax began to stir in my arms and when he awoke he gasped "Kingy" he whispered.

"Hello Jax" the strange man spoke with a British accent and was a strange sound when she was so used to Irish, "Who's your friend?" he helped her to her feet.

"This is my friend" he squeaked as he leapt from her arms and ran around the ground before hiding behind her legs.

"I'm Hazel" she held out her hand for him to shake, instead he took it gently and kissed her knuckles.

"I am the Goblin King but you may call me Jareth" he bowed then stood to his full height. Her blue eyes taking him in, he could get lost in that gaze he thought.

"Well Jareth" she smoothed her tattered dress and avoided his gaze, "You wouldn't mind telling me where we are would you?"

"This is the Goblin Kingdom and just over that hill is the Goblin City," she looked over to where he was pointing, "May I ask how and why you are here?"

"I am here to get my cat- Shiloh," she met his gaze again "I know it seems silly but I seem to have just ended up here after the thunder storm last night"

'So that would explain it' he thought 'she came in through the lightning portal'

"Please let me help you, I offer my castle and my assistance in finding your cat"

"That is very kind of you but…" she was about to make an excuse but she saw Jax snuggling up to her and knew they both needed proper food and rest, plus something about Jareth made her feel calm, "Thank you I would really appreciate it"

"Me too" squeaked Jax as Hazel lifted him onto her arms.

Jareth released a crystal from his pocket through it in the air and the group landed in his throne room.

"Sorry I should have warned you" he went towards Hazel as she began to sway on her feet.

"It's fine" but she began to feel faint again but this time Jareth caught her and helped both Hazel and Jax to their rooms.

When Hazel saw the room she thought she was hallucinating, the room was magnificent but it was so colourful her eyes were blurry and her head was pounding. Once she saw the bed she curled up onto it, not even removing her jacket or shoes. When Jareth returned after dropping Jax of at the nursery, he came in to check on Hazel. She was sleeping peacefully but he walked into the room anyway, he gently unlaced her boots and placed them on the floor near her bed and was about to remove her jacket when she sat bolt upright.

"What the hell do you think you're doing" she shouted scooting to the far side of the bed.

"I was just making you more comfortable," he spluttered and backed away giving her space because right in that moment she looked like a caged tiger ready to attack, he had never seen such anger and fire in a woman before, it was like her eyes were glowing like fire and lightning. "I don't mean to scare you, I am just curious about you, I would never hurt you"

She settled down against the headboard, she ran her hands along the soft velvety texture of the cushions that littered the bed. Little Jax snored and squeaked lightly in his sleep, little puffs of smoke puffed out of his nose every time he exhaled. Jareth sat on a large straight back armchair on the other side of the room, giving her space to breathe but he kept his eyes on her. Hazel sat and tried to control her breathing, he had really frightened her but there was something about his eyes that told her he wasn't a threat.


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry this has taken so long I've been really ill. I hope you like this chapter.

Chapter Four- The Forest

She must have fallen asleep because when she awoke Jareth had gone and Jax was sat on top of the large wooden desk munching on pumpkin seeds. Once he saw she was awake he leapt down from the desk and bounced onto the bed.

"Look, food" he spluttered seeds all over the pillows and hugged her around the neck.

"Morning Jax" she rolled over and got out of bed. On the bedside table was a scroll sealed with a purple wax seal. She popped open the seal and written in elegant cursive script was a note from Jareth.

_Dear Hazel,_

_I didn't want to wake you but I have been called away to the festival site. Breakfast is ready when you are just ring the bell on the table. I will come to you later. Please don't go wandering around the castle._

_Jareth._

The note disappeared as soon as she had finished reading it, only a light sprinkling of glitter in her hand told her it had been there. She noticed the small silver bell on the bedside table and gingerly gave it a ring. Two steaming serving trays appeared on the desk exactly where Jax had been sitting moments before. They both eyed the food eagerly, Hazel couldn't remember the last time she had had a proper meal. Two steaming bowls of porridge, fresh juicy strawberries, six blueberry pancakes, two large glasses of orange juice and two mugs of hot chocolate awaited them.

"Pancakes" squeaked Jax.

Hazel and Jax wolfed down the breakfast eagerly. Once they had finished Hazel put her jacket and shoes back on. Jax held her hand tightly as they ventured outside the door of their room.

"Jareth told us not to" Jax held her even tighter and whimpered.

"I'm not going to sit in that room all day just because Jareth told me too" she patted Jax on his tufty head and they set of down the corridor.

The corridors were painted with murals of the Goblin City each showing a different view, some showed the woods and meadows others were of the castle and labyrinth itself, they were very beautiful. Strange creatures which she suspected were goblins bustled down the corridors chatting amongst themselves, carrying food and other objects. No one seemed to pay much attention to her and Jax as they snuck out of the castle and into the gardens surrounding Jareth's marvellous palace. Large flowers and trees filled the air with sweet scents and the colours shone so bright in the sun, it was very beautiful, like a child with a box of brightly coloured crayons had coloured everything in.

'This whole place is like a child's dream' she thought as the smell of buttery popcorn filled the air. They headed towards the large moat that surrounded the castle, there seemed to be no way of crossing it. Large golden koi carp fish swam in the crystal clear water but when Hazel tried to scoop a handful of water from the moat a scaly hand grabbed hold of her. Five of the large golden koi carp fish had transformed into mermaids and where all trying to grab hold of her and pull her into the water. She lost her balance and fell into the water, slipping under the surface. The mermaids with their golden tails and glittering scales pulled her by her arms deep under the surface and into an underground cave. They sat her on one of the large rocks as she caught her breath.

"Where am I?" she spluttered as she tried to control her breathing.

"Underneath the Goblin King's castle" all five spoke in unison, in a raspy snakelike voice.

"What do you want?"

"We want to be free" they began swimming closer to her and sliding there scaly hands up the rock, "And you are the one to liberate us."

"What can I do I'm only here to try and find my cat"

But she stopped when all of the mermaid's hands were on her skin, there slippery hands pulling her into the water.

"We cannot tell you but we can show you" and they pulled her under the surface again.

They led her to a large carving on the wall of the cave; it showed a beautiful woman surrounded by every type of magical, mythical creature you could imagine battling an evil dark shadow. It looked like a great battle with good and evil fighting against one another.

Swimming back to the surface to catch her breath, she couldn't help but remember seeing something like that before.

"What does it mean?"

But the mermaids had gone, leaving her alone in the watery underground cave. She pondered the meaning of the shakily drawn carving on the wall and what it had to do with her. She kept swimming up until she reached the surface. Jax was waiting on the shore, tears running down his scaly cheeks.

"Hazel" he squealed as she heaved herself up onto the shore. "I thought you were dead"

Lying on her back she coughed and spluttered with the effort of breathing. For the second time in two days she was soaking wet. 'This place is going to kill me' she thought.

"Jax, what do you know about the cave the mermaids just showed me, underneath the castle" Jax sat in her lap as she tried to stop him crying.

"That was the old dungeon room but it got flooded" he held onto her tightly as he wept.

"Do you know anything about the carving on the wall?"

"Oh yes" he squealed and sat on his haunches facing her, "That was where he would take the people who were trying to fight him"

"Who's he?" she asked watching Jax talk animatedly.

"The evil high king Ubel, the one who trapped everyone"

"I thought Jareth was the king"

"Jareth is the King of the Goblins; the evil king Ubel rules everyone and everything even the other kings"

Hazel stood up and Jax followed, they were about to turn back to the castle when she spotted a rock bridge that wasn't there before.

"Where did that bridge come from, did you see it before Jax" they both started to walk towards it.

"Didn't see it before" he stopped in his tracks "Could be a trap"

"I don't think so" she said as she spotted the mermaids leaning on the rocks.

They stepped over the stones quickly, Hazel watched as the mermaids smiled and then turned back into fish.

"Come on Jax" she held out her hand for the little dragon and they set of through the surrounding meadow.

"Something is glowing in your pocket," said Jax as they walked through the meadow.

They stopped and Hazel removed the compass from her satchel. The dull grey metal now glowed with a silvery white light.

"How strange" she twisted the compass until the words "Golden Moon, silver sun, all thirteen hands lead back to one" could be read. With a mechanical clanking of gears and a burst of light the compass opened. Inside was a map of the entire Underground, including all of the seven kingdoms. A small arrow was on the map and it showed were Hazel and Jax were. The compass was pointing north so they set of to try and find Shiloh.

Unbeknown to Hazel or even Jareth, the evil High King Ubel had captured Shiloh and was keeping the poor cat as a prisoner. He was watching her in his large crystal ball, using the powers in the compass to draw her to him. The only way for him to destroy the Underground would be to harness and use her powers.

Jax and Hazel walked through the meadow and came upon a large, dense forest. The compass was telling her to go through it but something in the back of her mind made her stop.

"Why we stop Hazel?" Jax pulled on her hand.

"I'm not sure but something doesn't feel right"

A foreboding gloom landed on Hazel's shoulders, something was telling her not to go in there. She grabbed hold of Jax, turned and ran in the other direction. The further away she ran from the forest, the feelings of sadness lessened. But in her haste to retreat she had no idea which way they had run. A small gathering of houses came into view and Hazel slowed down from a run to a light jog until they reached the small village. It appeared to be deserted, only the sound of bells and wind chimes whistled in the wind.

"Where is everyone?" Jax held onto Hazel tighter.

Up ahead a cloaked figure came towards her. "Penny for an old woman dear" a shaky blue hand emerged from the cloak.

"I'm sorry but I have no money but I have some food, if you would like to share with us" Hazel held out a handful of gummy bears.

"How about that compass in your pocket" the woman pointed directly at the pocket which held the glowing compass.

"I'm not sure" the woman stepped closer towards her.

"I offer you my services in finding your cat, Shiloh in return for that compass"

"Wait a minute, how do you know about Shiloh?"

She laughed a wicked laugh and removed her cloak. Standing before them was a tall, blue skinned woman around Hazel's age with the legs of a horse.

"You're a centaur" exclaimed Hazel.

"Of course" she bowed to Hazel "I have been ordered to escort you to the gathering" she picked up Hazel and Jax and put her on her back.

They rode out of the village and towards an abandoned castle. All around them the earth was barren and scorched as if a fire had burnt everything to the ground. Ash fell from the sky like snow and the smell of death hung in the air like a cloud.

"What's your name?" asked Hazel after a few moments of awkward silence.

"I am Rowan"

"Nice to meet you Rowan"

"You are Hazel the lost girl"

"Yes how did you guess"

"It was no guess, these woods have been my home all my life, I know when there is a change, the wind and the woods speak to me and they kept telling me your name"

They galloped over the rocky terrain with ease and the castle was getting closer. Hazel felt sleepy but there was something comforting about taking to Rowan. She didn't have many friends back at home because she was always working. It was strange to think she had more in common with a centaur than with an ordinary human being.

Eventually they reached the abandoned castle, tall carved oak doors creaked open as Rowan approached, they galloped through with ease and the doors where shut behind them. Rowan lifted Jax down and passed the little sleeping dragon to Hazel once she had jumped down to the ground.

"Where are we?" asked Hazel but Rowan didn't answer she just walked across the stone courtyard and through another set of oak doors.


End file.
